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10. A New Courage

A flash of lightning illuminated the room, followed by a distant rumble of thunder. The wind picked up, carrying with it some nostalgic feelings.

I moved away from the window as the rain began to fall. I climbed the bed and buried my body under the duvet. My gaze remained fixed on the window sill, observing the raindrops relentlessly pelting against it.

As the rain continued to pour, it seemed to soften the earth and stir up the remaining long-buried feelings I had for Brandon that I had managed to push aside. Tears welled up in my eyes as I recalled Rachel's threat and how defeated her words made me feel.

Suddenly, my phone chimed, indicating a new message from my Watsapp. The voice note began to play and Brandon's voice filled the room.

Brandon blocked my number when he left Malmö two years ago. I couldn't believe he just unblocked my number.

"Jewel, are you still awake? I need to ask, did Rachel hit you? Please reply if you're awake," Brandon said. There was a faint tremor in his voice as though some emotion had touched him.

"No," I forwarded a typed reply and tossed the phone aside.

"Why do I have the feeling that she hit you? Sweetheart, please don't lie to me. Tell me everything that happened in your room before I entered," Brandon's emotional voice filled the room once again.

"What would you do if I told you she hit me? Call off the wedding?" I asked.

"No," Brandon's response came after about five minutes of silence.

"How can I tell Brandon that his voice is slowly shattering my last reserve? How do I express to him that his low voice, combined with the cold weather, is pushing me towards the brink of insanity?" I asked myself, sniffling as I struggled to hold back my feelings.

In an effort to control myself, I ignored Brandon's voice note, hoping to prevent any further messages. However, after a few minutes, his voice boomed once again.

"My Jewel…" I quickly paused the voice note, contemplating whether to switch off my phone. My hand trembled as I fought the urge to keep it on and hear more of Brandon's voice I had missed so much. Ninety percent of me still craved the sound of his voice, despite the goosebumps it kept giving me.

"Why are you awake?" I typed, eagerly awaiting another voice note.

"I'm lost in the sea of thought," Brandon replied, opting to type instead of sending a voice note.

"Come to my room we need to talk," I wrote and waited but Brandon went offline immediately.

The next day, I heard a gentle knock on my room door. The knock was followed by footsteps. I quickly clutched the duvet as someone began to remove it. I turned my head and saw my mom standing beside my bed.

"When did you come back?" I asked with a weak tone.

"I came back very late last night. I came here and noticed you were with Brandon, so I left," my mom explained. Just like my father, my mom hates seeing Brandon and me together.

"Sweetheart, it's already twenty minutes past six. You need to take a bath and join us at the dining table. Brandon and Rachel want you to join us at the dining table," my mom said, attempting to remove the duvet once again. I glanced at the wall clock and pulled the covers back over my head.

"Mom, I'm tired," I murmured.

"Did you and Brandon have sex last night?" My mom asked, causing me to quickly uncover my face.

"No!" I responded sharply, feeling somewhat embarrassed that she asked me such a direct question. "Are you sure? Because I saw him between your legs last night, and Rachel told your father that you and Brandon had sex last night!"

"What! Rachel is a liar! Nothing happened, Mom!"

"We don't trust you, but we trust Brandon. He is a man of integrity and he won't dare touch his friend's eighteen-year-old daughter, so your father and I didn't believe what Rachel said."

"I'm an adult," I said, rolling out of the bed.

"Emma, we're in the dining room waiting for you. Just hurry up with your morning routine and meet us there," Mom said before exiting the room.

Twenty minutes later, I emerged from my closet dressed in tight denim that accentuated my backside and a crop top that exposed my flat stomach, making my ample breasts appear even larger.

With my backpack securely on my back, I was ready to go to my e-learning center where web engineers were developing an e-learning app for children who couldn't afford tuition, enabling them to be homeschooled by artificial intelligence.

As I opened my door, I saw Vera standing behind the door.

"Good morning, Emma," Vera greeted me while her eyes remained on the golden box that was under my bed.

"Why are you standing here?" I asked after a while.

"Your father demands your presence."

"What does he want?"

"He wants you to have breakfast with Brandon Henderson and Rachel before they leave," Vera announced. I sighed and walked past Vera.

"Pumpkin!" I heard my dad's voice bellow, and I halted.

"This is not the way to the dining room."

"Good morning, Dad. I'm heading out, and I'm already late," I responded, balancing my backpack carefully.

"Didn't your servant tell you that I called for you?" Samuel asked.

"She did."

"So..."

"I can't eat with your friends right now. I'm running late. Tell them that I wish them a safe journey back to Stockholm and of course…a… successful wedding," I let out the painful words and walked swiftly away without a backward glance.

However, I noticed that some people were walking behind me at the same pace, and the sound of their footsteps resembled that of a battalion marching out for war.

In the driveway, my car was humming softly as my driver waited for me. As I stretched out my hand to open the door, a hand quickly grabbed the door handle and opened it for me. I recognized Brandon's signature cologne and knew it was him.

I entered the car without saying a word to him. Brandon joined me in the rear seat of the car and closed the door. I averted my gaze, avoiding his charming eyes. I felt his hand on my lap, searching for my palm to hold.

Honestly, I couldn't deny the new and unexpected courage to fight that surged through me when Brandon's warm hand finally grabbed my right palm and squeezed it gently.

I was suddenly overwhelmed by an intense feeling of being with Brandon and watching him pamper me, as he has done since I was born.

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